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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Mobile is Tide’s Multi-channel Solution

Proctor and Gamble’s Tide uses mobile video as part of its latest effort to score within its broader campaign. The recent campaign, a partnership with the NFL, seeks to capture the vigor of fervent football fans and their passion for the hues of their hometown teams.

Multi-screen viewing is on the rise, and with scores of Sunday afternoon football watchers using their phones and tablets to check the latest fantasy stat line, the detergent’s target for this campaign assuredly includes those no longer satisfied with one screen. The mobile element of Tide’s “Show Us Your Colors” series, comes in the form of in-stream video running within the ABC News iPhone app. This is not Tide’s first use of mobile as a complement to a campaign’s more traditional elements and it shows.

The brand has succeeded here in a couple of ways. First, the brevity of the ads: the 15-second spot, comprised of repurposed web video, doesn’t wear too heavily on the viewer. Second, the ad has purpose. The commercial is an effort to increase awareness for an online photo contest, and by driving the user to a dedicated mobile site they are successfully moving from interruption to invitation.

This is an example of how to get a brand active in the mobile channel. Previously, Tide has enhanced print efforts with QR codes, integrated within the Pandora app using rich media and now offers up this succinct use of mobile video. Brands must begin to explore the space, understand the space and implement strategies within the space that enrich the overall effort instead of simply adding clutter.